Top 3 Examples of Blockchain in Healthcare

Blockchain, the most famous example of distributed ledger technology, offers greater efficiency, security, and transparency. These attributes give it the potential to reshape the way industries conduct their operations. One primary instance of an industry prominently embracing blockchain is the healthcare sector.

Blockchain has already transformed healthcare despite being a recent development. Researchers worldwide have adopted this technology to offer solutions to issues that affect both providers and patients. So far, they’ve been widely successful, and the significance of blockchain in everyday healthcare operations is already evident.

In this article, we’ll discuss the top examples of blockchain playing a role in healthcare. You’ll also find out some of the most popular healthcare crypto coins to invest in and learn how you can trade them today. Let’s begin!

Blockchain Uses in Healthcare Summary

If you’re short on time, don’t worry! We’ve summed up the top use cases of blockchain in the healthcare industry. Take a look:

• Helping to Maintain Health Records
• Assisting With Clinical Trial Recruitment
• Securing Supply Chain Management

The Top Uses of Blockchain in the Healthcare Industry

From optimising medical records to assisting with clinical trial recruitment, we can’t deny that blockchain technology has already altered the healthcare industry. But what is the extent of this impact? Let’s find out!

Here are the top examples of blockchain in healthcare:

1. Health Records

Obtaining access to health records is a time-consuming process that drains staff resources and delays patient care. In countries worldwide, both patients and healthcare providers have a fractured and incomplete view of medical histories. This poor coordination and inconsistency not only wastes time but also puts the health of patients in jeopardy.

Some healthcare providers have taken steps towards solving this issue by using a blockchain-based system for medical records. The patient data itself is not recorded on the blockchain, but instead, every time a patient record is updated or amended, it’s logged on the blockchain as a transaction. This provides a comprehensive single source of all patient health data and removes the need for intermediaries.

The application of blockchain-based patient data can benefit other areas in the healthcare industry, such as the precision medicine field. This will lead to more positive health outcomes as a result of personalised medical decisions. Overall, this is much more secure and accurate compared to the traditional electronic medical data record system.

2. Clinical Trials

Clinical trials allow researchers to find new ways to detect, prevent, and treat diseases. They play a vital role in the healthcare industry and help to produce treatments, medicines, and therapies for patients.

The most challenging aspect of clinical trials is the recruitment process. The sector as a whole experiences difficulty finding enough participants, resulting in 86% of trials failing to achieve their recruitment goals on time. Researchers have found that the main contributing factor to this issue is excessive time consumption.

This results from completing lengthy processes such as advertising the trial and checking the eligibility of potential subjects. This is another key issue that blockchain can prove to resolve.

A group of researchers have already implemented an Ethereum-based blockchain to simulate the recruitment process. This system is composed of two modules that utilise smart contract protocols.

The first module identifies potential patients before automatically matching them with suitable trials using inclusion and exclusion criteria. The second module manages patient enrollments and monitors future trials.

This will vastly speed up the recruitment process, solving multiple issues within the clinical trial sector. The addition of blockchain technology also allows researchers to view valuable trail information without compromising their participants’ privacy.

3. Supply Chain

Ensuring the authenticity of medical goods through verifying their origin is a major challenge within the healthcare sector. According to the NCPC, over 10% of pharmaceuticals in the global supply chain are counterfeit. These fake drugs pose a significant risk to patients and result in billions of pounds worth of damage.

Due to this, there’s a clear need for producers and distributors to gain greater visibility over their medical supply chain operations. Blockchain offers a solution to this issue by providing an easier and more secure way to verify the authenticity of drugs and trace their origin.

The blockchain drug traceability process starts with the manufacturer. After they create a drug, they mark it with a unique code and produce a hash. The information for this drug is now stored on the blockchain. When the manufacturer sends the drug to the wholesaler, its origin is verified, and the transaction is logged on the blockchain.

Next, the drug is sent to the pharmacist, who also verifies the origin. Again, the transaction is added to the blockchain. Lastly, the pharmacist delivers the drug to the patient, where the drug is once more verified, and the final transaction is recorded.

Since all blockchain transactions are timestamped and immutable, it allows fake drugs to be easily identified and removed from the supply chain. This will increase consumer confidence and prevent tens of thousands of avoidable deaths worldwide.

Top Healthcare Coins

Here are some of the best healthcare crypto coins you can invest in right now to contribute to the reshaping of the healthcare industry:

• MediBloc (MED)
• SOLVE (SOLVE)
• Dentacoin (DCN)
• Lympo (LYM)
• DOSE (DOSE)
• Lyfe (LYFE)
• Hypocrite (HPO)
• Medicalchain (MTN)
• MediShares (MDS)
• Trial (TRL)
• Patientory (PTOY)

Tip – Be sure to do plenty of research before investing in healthcare coins. We highly suggest reading the coin’s whitepaper and looking it up on social media forums.

How to Invest in Healthcare Crypto

You can trade healthcare cryptocurrencies such as the ones we’ve listed above the same way you would with standard coins. The process is more straightforward than you think, and the hardest part is choosing between a broker and an exchange.

Both of these options have unique benefits, so you should take some time to consider which is the best for you. To help out, we’ve summarised each below:

Crypto Broker

A crypto broker’s role is to offer tailored advice and provide tools that can assist traders in various ways. This can range from discovering and refining trading strategies to gaining confidence through first-hand practice.

A broker will also help you choose healthcare coins to invest in and help you plan out your portfolio. The best way to connect with a well-suited broker is through a crypto platform.

• Best for – Beginner traders
• Our pick – Immediate Connect

Crypto Exchange

A crypto exchange is a marketplace that facilitates the buying and selling of coins. They operate similarly to stock exchanges and charge small fees for their services. However, crypto exchanges are fully digital and have no physical presence. They typically support a wide range of coins, and some even provide various trading tools.

• Best for – Experienced traders
• Our pick – Coinbase

Choosing an Option

If you can’t decide which to choose, then try considering these questions:

• What is my trading experience level?
• Do I need assistance when trading?
• Am I confident in my own abilities?
• Have I already set personal goals?
• Do I already know which coins I want to trade?
• Am I looking for lesser-known coins?
• Am I willing to use specialised tools?
• Do I want 24/7 customer support?

Overall, if you’re a new trader seeking additional help when buying coins, a broker will be your best option. They will help you create a suitable trading strategy and provide more insight into the crypto market.

On the other hand, if you want to trade alone and already know which coins you want to buy, then you’re better off joining an exchange. Exchanges usually have knowledge bases but do not provide tailored advice to users.

Final Thoughts: Is There a Role for Blockchain in Healthcare?

To conclude, blockchain technology undeniably plays a valuable role in healthcare. Its current use cases include optimising medical data records, securing the drug supply chain, and streamlining the clinical trial process.

However, the overall success of blockchain technology within the healthcare system depends on its widespread adoption and integration with existing healthcare practices.

Some providers are hesitant to implement blockchain due to a lack of understanding, regulatory concerns, and resistance to change. Healthcare, among other industries, already has established processes and systems, making them reluctant to adapt to blockchain despite its clear advantages.

To promote the implementation of blockchain in the healthcare industry, we must rely on the application of regulatory frameworks and the emergence of success stories.

Once blockchain demonstrates its value in the uses we’ve listed in this article, more healthcare companies will be open to exploring the potential applications and benefits of this technology. This will accelerate adoption, eventually providing an enhanced healthcare experience for providers and patients worldwide.